People's Democracy

BUDGET 2014

Anti-People Interim Budget

The following are the reactions on Budget 2014 sent by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, All India Kisan Sabha, All India Agricultural Workers Union and All India Federation of Anganwadi Workers and Helpers on February 17, 2014

CITU

THE interim budget, presented by the finance minister Chidambaram is a political gimmick to camouflage its continued thrust of pro-corporate economic regime and its anti-people bias.

In the run up to the forthcoming general elections, the finance minister seeks to project so-called "aam admi" orientation of the budget by comparing the present expenditures/allocations on health, education and other developmental heads with the figures of the last ten years. By doing so, the FM seeks to cleverly hide the truth that in the successive budgets of UPA-2 government, the budgetary pro-people allocations were not deliberately spent aiming to contain the fiscal deficit. Even in the current year, central plan outlay on rural development head has been cut drastically by Rs 5792 crore; in irrigation and flood control by Rs 800 crore: in transport by Rs 24,359 crore; social services by Rs 28,640 crore and industry & minerals by Rs 11,843 crore; and also the central plan outlay was cut for the health and family welfare ministry by Rs 7000 crore, education (human resource) ministry by Rs 4000 crore and social justice and empowerment ministry by Rs 1000 crore. Over all cut in central plan outlay was Rs 66,000 crore and this was done to only contain fiscal deficit to 4.6% and it is claiming credit for stabilising the economy! All these expenditures would have contributed to income and employment generation to common people.

How the government which is so focused on containing fiscal deficit could continue to allow pilferage in the national exchequer by not recovering the due corporate tax and income tax from the corporate-big business lobby? The tax-dues are to the tune of Rs 5.10 lakh crore as on December 2013. These dues are over and above the tax concessions granted to them on "revenue-foregone" account of around Rs 2.8 lakh crore only on account of corporate and income tax. The government laments on fiscal deficit only and  squeezes expenditure on peoples' welfare.

The interim budget contains nothing on relief to the working people who generate GDP for the country and revenue for the national exchequer by keeping the national economy afloat. The written statement of the prime minister to the 45th session of the Indian Labour Conference that the demands of the trade unions were "unexceptionable" and the demands, like universal coverage of social security benefits and national minimum wage "are in advance stages of consideration", found no reflection in the budget, reducing the prime minister's statement to mere sound-bites. Despite assurances on different occasions, no relief has been announced for the scheme workers who are not even getting minimum wages.

The budget's major focus remains on further concessions to corporate and big-business lobby, both domestic and foreign, through tax concessions on the plea of promoting investment. Investment can expand only with expansion of market through increasing purchasing power of people. But, market can no way be expanded by squeezing developmental and welfare expenditures with ongoing gloom and widening poverty, further burdened by increasing food inflation. It was rather necessary to contain non-essential imports by raising import duty to contain current account deficit and also to boost the domestic industries. But Budget refused to take a call.

The UPA-2 government's blind approach to run the economy only by pampering corporates, both domestic and foreign, is bound to aggravate the gloom and crisis further. This is clear from the very fact that despite sizable growth in agricultural GDP by 4.6%, over all GDP cannot be estimated beyond 4.8 % as the non-agricultural sector is in the midst of stagnation, heading for decline. Complete reversal of the present economic policy regime is the only way if the country and the people are to advance. The CITU denounces the anti-people interim budget of the UPA-2 government and calls upon their ranks to struggle for reversal of the anti-people policy regime.

AIKS

THE All India Kisan Sabha deplores the interim budget for 2014-15 as anti-farmer and calls up on the peasant masses all over the country to protest against the same. The Budget proposals will bring more havoc and miseries to peasants and agricultural workers. The budget vindicates that the government has not learned anything from the continuing agrarian crisis and is not willing to change the wrong policies that have badly affected the agriculture sector and rural economy. 

The agricultural growth estimated at 4.6% is due to the good monsoon and the government has nothing to claim about that and on the other side the GDP growth rate that has been estimated at 4.8% exposes the fact that non-agricultural economy of industry and services has stagnated and is facing severe crisis. This fact reveals the hollowness and anti-people face of the neo-liberal economic model pursued by the Manmohan Singh government. The budget proposals point out the illusory expectation of the government on foreign direct investment.    

The revenue deficit and fiscal deficit has been controlled by cutting down the budgetary support to the central plan. Such large scale curtailments in plan expenditure will adversely affect the peasants and working class and impede the growth of the real economy.

The government is not willing to change its policy and restrict import of agricultural produce which adversely affects the price of farm products. The crash in the price of rubber and the protest by rubber growing farmers had no impact upon the policy of the government. There are no proposals for enhancing subsidies to agriculture, special fund to ensure remunerative price to farm products, ensuring minimum wage and stable employment to agriculture workers and promoting domestic agro processing industries in public sector and cooperative sector.

AIAWU

The All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU) deplores yet another budget of the UPA-2 that opens the door to speculative foreign capital, fails to address the question of rural distress, inflation and employment, but even surrenders to the blackmail of exploiters, plunderers and profiteers. The refusal to take responsibility for the corruption rampant in the country and favouring of a few profiteers under the cover of the global recession will cost us dearly.

This is evident from the limiting of the Fiscal Deficit to 4.6% which can only be held on to by further plunder of our resources, concessions to foreign speculators and misery to our people. It is also evident  from the cut-backs in food and fertilizers while  not attempting to cut down profits in oil prices and those of gas even though it has become a scandal with the Delhi government registering FIR’s in a case of  collusion between the government, bureaucrats and Reliance Industries Ltd recently. Also most of the funding for the social sector has declined in comparison to the nearly two-figure rise in inflation which can only worsen the condition of agricultural labourers and the rural poor who are already suffering as never before. The divisive activities of the ruling class whether in Andhra Pradesh, UP, Gujarat and in other parts of the country will further increase the costs of maintaining law and order and eat into the proposed budget well beyond its capacity.

The way in which the UPA government has aided plunder of the natural resources, sold out public property and ignored the misery of the people will not go unpunished. Struggles are under way for resisting the price rise, demanding the unpaid wages under MNREGA, work for 200 days a year at no less than Rs 250 per day, and increased funding for PDS, education and health will further show this budget exercise as only an extension of the past policy that has brought both the Congress and the BJP into disrepute and forced the people to seek out an alternative.

AIFAWH

THE interim budget is nothing less than cheating the nation and the anganwadi workers and helpers of the country. The finance minister had allocated only Rs 21,000 crore for the ministry of women and child development. This is only a nominal increase of Rs 650 crores (3%) from the last year’s allocation of Rs 20,350 crores.

The 12th Plan allocation for the ICDS for the year 2014-15 is Rs 22,027 crores, as per the ministry, even though the nutritional experts of the country and the trade union federations of anganwadi employees are demanding double the amount. But, in this interim budget, the allocation for the entire ministry for WCD, Rs 21,000 crores is less than even the plan allocation for only ICDS for this year. Through this interim budget, the UPA-2 government has backed out from its own plan commitment, had cheated the nation and betrayed the needs of the country’s malnourished children.

The finance minister had stated that the ‘ICDS Mission’ will be implemented throughout the country, now. The AIFAWH had been opposing the move to privatise the ‘ICDS’ by handing over it to the private companies and corporate NGOs in the mission. In spite of repeated demands, the government till date is not ready to discuss with the employees’ organisations.

Moreover, the government had turned its back to the 27 lakh anganwadi workers and helpers who had been working for a pittance for the last 38 years who are not even paid minimum wages. They are forced to ‘retire’ without any social security. The UPA-2 government had ignored the recommendation of the 45th Indian Labour Conference, the highest tripartite forum of the country, to recognise the anganwadi workers and helpers and employees, give them minimum wages and pension and other social security benefits.

The prime minister of India, who said that the malnutrition is a ‘national shame’ and the anganwadi workers and helpers are the ‘pillars of social development’ had promised to the AIFAWH leadership in 2006 that the anganwadi employees will be given ‘parting gift’ at the time of retirement and also promised in 2012 that they will be given ‘minimum assured benefits’.  But even this last interim budget of the UPA-2 government has failed to keep the promises of the prime minister and the government.

The All India Federation of Anganwadi Workers and Helpers (AIFAWH) strongly condemns the callous negligence of the UPA-2 government towards the ICDS, the flagship programme which benefits 1.8 crore women and 8 crore children of the country and also to the anganwadi workers and helpers.

AIFAWH calls upon all the anganwadi workers and helpers to protest against the UPA government’s attitude by organising rallies, dharnas, meetings etc., all over the country and to strengthen the organisation to fight for the just demands.